


Lighter than Air

by lesbians_and_puns



Series: Carmilla Cop AU [2]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 05:16:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4906912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbians_and_puns/pseuds/lesbians_and_puns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Alternate Chapter 2 of the Cop AU!</b> If you haven't read it, no worries - it includes the first chapter so it can stand alone as a oneshot.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Lighter than Air

**Author's Note:**

> **Alternate Chapter 2 of the Cop AU!** If you haven't read it, no worries - it includes the first chapter so it can stand alone as a oneshot.

“Laura, little hottie, glad you could make it!” Kirsch said loudly over a thumping bass beat, gesturing for Laura to come in. Laura rolled her eyes as she stepped into his apartment, which already reeked of alcohol, but her expression quickly changed from annoyed to optimistic as through the liquor came a scent of…

“Kirsch, are you baking _cookies_?” Laura asked excitedly, not even waiting for his reply as she marched off in pursuit of the smell. She opened a door, hoping to find the kitchen, but instead was greeted with the sight of Kirsch’s messy bedroom with a picture of a very scantily clad woman on a motorcycle featured above the bed. _Ew, okay, I did not need to see that_ , Laura thought darkly, and she pivoted and started walking toward the other end of the apartment when she bumped into LaFontaine.

“LaF, hey, glad you’re here! I was worried it was just going to be Zeta bros.”

“Nah, we’re all here, pretty much,” LaF replied. “Perry’s in the kitchen making cookies.”

“It’s Perry’s cookies?!” Laura asked, eyes wide, nearly yelling, and LaF smirked as they shushed her.

“Yeah, yeah, chocolate chip, your favorite. Go on, she’ll be happy to see you,” LaF said, gently pushing her toward the kitchen. The door was slightly ajar, and Laura could hear Perry’s distracted, disjointed humming over the music still blaring out of speakers in the entry room. Laura pushed the door open and found Perry fussing around with what looked like an entire cooking catalogue’s worth of bowls and cookie sheets in a floral-print apron that was absolutely covered in flour.

“Laura, good to see you! You’ve been so busy lately, we’ve all been worried. I’m glad you’re here,” Perry exclaimed, brushing her hands off on her apron before pulling Laura in for a tight, but brief, hug.

“Good to see you too, Perry,” Laura said warmly. “Sorry I’ve kind of been off the radar, I got handed a story that’s sort of been sucking up all of my time. But I hear you’re making…”

“Laura, no sneaking!” Perry said, slapping Laura’s hand, which was wandering oh-so-subtly toward the dough. “I swear, you’re even worse than LaFontaine.”

Laura huffed indignantly. “I would _never_ ,” she replied, sticking her chin up into the air. “I was just, ah, testing it. Making sure it was the right, uhm… consistency. Yeah,” she nodded, pleased with her recovery.

There was a chuckle from behind her and she turned to see LaF leaning up against the doorframe, clearly amused. “ _What_?” Laura snapped. Trying to put one over Perry was hard enough, but when the two of them were together, nothing got past them.

“Oh, nothing,” LaF said, barely hiding a laugh. “Just thought you might want to know that Ms. Lawrence has arrived.”

“Danny’s here?!” Laura asked in disbelief. “Oh no, this is not good, I didn’t even put on a nice dress since I came here straight from work…”

“Laura, dear, you look fine,” Perry said, patting Laura’s cheek absentmindedly as she added the chocolate chips to the dough with her other hand.

“Yeah, you still look hot,” LaF said encouragingly, and grabbed Laura’s arm, pulling her toward the front of the apartment. “I think it was kind of a last-minute thing, you know how things have been between her and Kirsch after he wouldn’t stop hitting on her during her senior year. But I think he told her you would be here, so…”

“So, what?!” Laura asked frantically. “What are you trying to say?”

LaFontaine laughed. “Go get her, tiger!” they said, gesturing toward the tall redhead currently engaged in what looked to be an intense debate with a slightly shorter woman. Laura nodded and strode purposefully toward her, before her progress was swiftly and inelegantly interrupted by a hand yanking her back. “ _What now_?” Laura hissed at LaF, who had the grace to look apologetic. “It’s just… you have… hang on,” LaF muttered, before using the corner of their sleeve to wipe flour off of Laura’s face.

“… Thanks, LaF,” Laura said sheepishly. “But your shirt!”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” LaF said with a smile. “I already have a hot date tonight. Now. Go get her. You’ve had a crush on her for years, it’s time to make your move.”

Laura nodded resolutely and turned, making her way through a crowd of Zeta bros and Summer Society sisters gathered around a keg. _Jeez, you’d think we were still in school_ , Laura thought, before remembering that Kirsch was, in fact, still in school. Laura always forgot that he had been a year behind her, LaF and Perry, and two years behind Danny, though it explained the maturity gap. Well, part of the maturity gap, anyway. And Kirsch was determined to make his senior year count, even if it meant dragging his old friends out of their “boring, adult lives” back into the chaos of college keg parties.

Shaking her head at the chanting that had taken up around the keg, Laura finally arrived at Danny’s side. “Hey, Danny,” she said shyly, glancing up at her briefly. She was greeted with a warm smile and an exclamation of “Laura!” before she was swept up in a hug.

“We’re not done here, Mel,” Danny warned over Laura’s head to the woman she had been talking to earlier. “Ethics exist, even if it’s just for alumnae fundraising.”

“Whatever,” the other woman – Mel – said dismissively. “Just don’t call me crying when you get passed over for Treasurer because your ideas lack… glamour.” She waved and disappeared into the crowd.

“What was that about?” Laura asked, and Danny chuckled. “What?” Laura asked, confused.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Danny paused at the look on Laura’s face. “No, seriously, it’s nothing. You’re just always so inquisitive. It’s kind of adorable.”

“Oh,” Laura said, considering, before a grin spread over her face. “Adorable, huh?”

Danny cleared her throat. “Well,” she started to say, but she was interrupted by a chaos at the door.

“What in the name of Skrillex is that?” Laura asked, craning her neck to try to see over the crowd still gathered at the keg.

Danny frowned. “It looks like the alchemy club is crashing,” she said distastefully. “Ugh. I should probably go, I think their president is still pissed at me after I shot an arrow through his beer can two years ago.”

“No, Danny, come on, hasn’t he graduated by now?” Laura asked, somewhat desperately. Danny snorted. “I wish,” she replied. “He was only a sophomore at the time, that’s part of the reason he was so annoying. He was making fun of Kirsch, remember? I think they had a class together or something.”

“Oh, right,” Laura said, the memory dawning on her. “Oh no, Kirsch is going to be so pissed they’re crashing. He hates that kid.”

Danny nodded. “Look, I’ll go warn Kirsch and then I’ll slip out the back. I don’t trust those kids, not even with LaF here on our side. Can you go tell LaF and Perry? She’ll flip if she brings out cookies and they start putting weird chemicals in them or something.”

“Yeah, of course,” Laura nodded, and Danny flashed her a thankful smile. “Wait, Danny,” she said, grabbing the redhead’s arm as she started to turn. Danny turned back toward her, head tilted to the side, questioning.

“I just,” Laura started meekly. “I feel like we didn’t really get a chance to catch up. You haven’t told me anything about your new job.”

“It’s just teaching English,” Danny said with a smile. “Aside from the rotten high schoolers, there’s not much to tell. But…” she paused, suddenly seeming nervous.

“Yeah?” Laura asked, holding her breath slightly.

“I guess I do have some good stories about them. Maybe we could get coffee and I could tell you some of them?” Danny asked hopefully, and Laura smiled. “That would be great,” she replied sincerely, and Danny grinned back at her.

“Okay, I really should run before that scrawny little kid sees me and tries to pick a fight,” Danny muttered, and Laura laughed and shooed her on her way before making her own way back toward the kitchen.

“Hey, LaF, Perry, uh… Some of the alchemy kids are crashing. Just thought you should know,” she announced, walking in to the room.

“ _What_?” LaF exclaimed, and Perry looked unsettled – well, more unsettled than usual. “Last time they were here they turned the cookies _green, Laura. And it wasn’t food coloring. I checked,” LaF said, eyebrows knit together in concern. “Look, Perr,” they said, turning toward her. “There’s just one more batch in the oven, right? Let’s just take the ones you’ve already made and we can leave that batch for Kirsch.”_

Perry muttered something about being a bad hostess and LaF sighed deeply. “You’re not being a bad hostess, Perr, it’s literally not your house or your party. Come on. Please?” they said. “Those kids give me bad vibes, you know that,” and Perry sighed but agreed. LaF looked at Laura. “You coming with?” they asked.

“No, I’m parked outside,” Laura replied, and then nearly jumped out of her skin as a clap of thunder echoed above them, even louder than whatever music was playing in the next room. “Oh no,” she groaned, and LaF looked at her, questioning.

“What’s up?” they asked. “You’re not scared of storms, are you?”

“No,” Laura replied, “but I totally left my sunroof open on my car. It was a gorgeous day, what was I supposed to do?” she added defensively, as LaF raised an eyebrow at her judgment. LaF rolled their eyes.

“You never fail to astonish me, Hollis,” they drawled, and Laura flushed. “Shut up,” she muttered.

“Well, we’ll still walk you out. Let’s go out the back way; I don’t want to run into those freaks,” LaF said, casting a dark look over their shoulder toward the room that was now starting to… _glow?_ LaF’s eyes widened and they shoved Laura in front of them toward the door that led to the fire escape. “Perr, come _on_ ,” they said, glancing back at her, and Perry nodded, only stopping twice to gather more Tupperware full of cookies. The three of them quietly made their way to the fire escape and onto the sidewalk; it only took two trips to get all of the cookies out of the building safely, except the sacrificial batch stuck in the oven upstairs, with warning notes posted all around the kitchen reminding Kirsch that turning _off_ the oven would probably be in his best interest.

“Okay, we good?” LaF asked, studying Perr and Laura, who both nodded. “Okay, cool,” they sighed. “I know they freak me out more than they should, it’s just…"

“It’s weird when other people do science you don’t understand,” Laura supplied helpfully, and LaF nodded. “Not to be an egotist, but yeah,” they agreed. “It just feels wrong. Now let’s get these cookies back to our place.”

Laura waved goodbye at the couple before turning and heading down the street, glancing up at the clouds quickly gathering above her. She quickened her step and was glad to see her car only a block later where she had left it, under a gorgeous oak, sunroof indeed left open. “Ugh,” Laura groaned quietly, and quickly closed it as she slid into the driver’s seat. She turned the key in the ignition and glanced at the clock. “Holy Hufflepuff,” she muttered. How did it get to be 2am? She must have been talking to Danny for longer than she realized. At the thought, a smile slid on to her face. Danny suggested a coffee date. Well, maybe not a date, but a coffee get-together. A coffee meeting. A coffee… thing. Yeah. A coffee thing. And Laura was looking forward to it more than she had to anything else in the past few weeks.

Danny shoved her hands into the pockets of her letterman jacket as she left the party and walked toward her truck, parked a block away from Kirsch’s apartment. Her long legs made quick work of the walk, quicker still because she was riding on a high from asking _Laura Hollis_ out on a _date_ , and Laura saying _yes_.  

 

* * *

 

Danny paused as she started to climb into the cab of the truck. She _had_ asked Laura out on a date, right? Laura had looked almost as nervous as Danny had felt, so she had probably thought Danny was asking her out. Right?

Danny turned the key in the ignition and backed out of her parking spot, replaying the events of the night over and over in her head as she drove back to her apartment. Laura had come to find her at the party. Laura had been curious about her conversation with Mel. Laura seemed disappointed the alchemy club was crashing, and it had seemed like she was disappointed because she wanted Danny to stay at the party. Laura had held her back from leaving to ask about the most ubiquitous job in the world - high school English teacher. Laura had seemed eager to say yes to getting coffee to hear Danny’s stories. Laura had said yes to a _date_ , right? … Right?

Sighing as she pulled into the garage under her building, Danny shook her head to clear her thoughts of the girl. Danny had been carrying a torch for her since she TA’d her class back in college, but she had never asked her out, out of respect for the ethical boundaries of the position she was in. And then she had graduated, and Laura was in her senior year, and Danny didn’t want to add any more stress. Laura had enough on her plate back then, and the two had been drifting a bit over the past year and a half as Laura graduated and they both settled into their jobs. Really, the only reason Danny had even gone to the party was because LaFontaine called her and said Laura would be there. Their voice had sounded teasing, and Danny wondered what LaF knew that she didn’t…

Danny gave an exasperated sigh and shoved the door to her apartment open, dropping her keys onto the table by the door. She took off her jacket and hung it on the row of hooks. Glancing up at the clock, she saw it was only just past 1am, so she wandered into the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate. As she poured it into a mug, it struck her that hot chocolate was Laura’s favorite drink. Danny frowned. This girl had to get out of her head. She stared at the mug, considering, before reaching under the counter and pulling out a bottle of peppermint schnapps, adding a healthy dose to the mug. She grinned. _Much_ better.

She took the mug and curled up in an armchair in her living room, pulling a stack of papers off the table and onto her lap. She absentmindedly reached for a red pen and tucked it behind her ear, and squinted down at the first essay. _Voldemort was Working for the Greater Good_ , it was titled. Danny groaned. It was going to be a very long night.

Two more shots of the peppermint schnapps, fifteen papers and approximately a quart of red ink later, Danny gave up on her students and crawled into bed, plugging her phone into the wall. Unsettled, she tossed about for half an hour before she gave up and texted Laura, suggesting coffee in the morning at the Anglerfish. She smiled to herself. Even if Laura didn’t get the text until the morning, she was almost always at the Anglerfish Sunday mornings for pancakes - or so Perry reported back to her. She’d see Laura tomorrow, and figure out if it was a date or not, and they would have a good time. If nothing else, Laura would get a kick out of the fact that one of her seniors had tried to justify Voldemort’s actions in an essay. If there was anything Laura was passionate about, it was Harry Potter.

Finally content, Danny drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Danny stretched in the booth, rotating her shoulders and rubbing her hand. _I’ll be thirty with arthritis because of these damn papers_ , she thought to herself, annoyed. She had already graded an additional three papers since she arrived at the Anglerfish at 10:30 - hey, she had been up already, she figured she might as well get a hot drink. It was definitely not because she was overeager to see Laura. That was _definitely_ not it.

Danny glanced up at the sound of the bells above the door tinkling, and shot up quickly when she saw a familiar head. “Laura!!” she exclaimed, and Laura grinned at her.

“Hey,” she said, making her way around the tables to their booth. She hesitated, then gave Danny a brief hug. “How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good,” Danny said. “And you? Did you get home okay?”

“Yeah, I did,” Laura responded. “Got LaF and Perry out before anything _too_ sketchy went down.”

“That’s good!” Danny said with a smile, and Laura nodded back. They sat grinning stupidly at each other for several seconds before they both blushed and looked away.

“So, uh…” Danny started, just as Laura began speaking. They both stopped and looked at each other. “You go first,” Danny said, and Laura shook her head.

“Don’t be stupid, you go,” she said.

“No, Laura. Please.”

“Stop being so chivalrous and just talk!”

“I’m being _polite_!” Danny said, glaring at Laura. Their glaring contest was interrupted suddenly as they heard someone clearing their throat at them. Perry gave them both an exasperated look and pulled out a waitressing pad.

“Would you like to order anything, or are you just going to sit here arguing and scaring away my customers all day?” she asked, and Danny had the grace to blush. She took some consolation in the fact that Laura’s cheeks were as red as hers felt.

“Um,” she said, shifting uncomfortably and glancing over the menu. “Can I have, uh… Can I have a southwestern omelette, please?”

Perry nodded, writing the order down on the pad. “Laura?” she asked, turning toward the smaller girl.

“Um… My usual,” Laura replied with a slightly sheepish look toward Danny, who raised her eyebrows at her. Perry nodded and left with a brief admonishment not to terrify the other patrons.

“So… You have a usual?” Danny asked with a grin, and Laura groaned.

“LaF and Perry are my best friends!” she said defensively. “Of course I come here a lot.”

“Okay, okay,” Danny said, laughing, holding her hands up in a surrender. “So what _is_ your usual, may I ask?”

“... Pancakes.”

“ _Just_ pancakes?”

“Good pancakes.”

“What makes pancakes good?”

“I guess you’ll have to find out,” Laura said with a smile, and Danny chuckled.

“That’s fair,” she allowed. “So. What were you going to say?”

Laura gave her a look, but started talking. “I was, um… I was actually going to ask you a question.”

“Oh,” Danny said, surprised. “Okay, sure. Go ahead.”

“But it’s, like… A personal question? And it might make things a little weird. Or not. But it could? I don’t think it will but it is a distinct possibility, so I…”

“Laura,” Danny interrupted, and Laura snapped her mouth shut. “Laura, you’re rambling. Just ask me, okay? I promise I won’t make it weird.”

Laura studied her face for a minute, and Danny tried to appear as genuine and nonthreatening as possible. Laura was apparently satisfied because she nodded and cleared her throat.

“Um. So, I was wondering…” she started, but trailed off and fidgeted. Danny sighed inwardly and reached across the table, taking Laura’s hand in her own.

“Hey,” she said gently. “You don’t have to ask me anything you don’t want to, okay? I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything.”

Laura stared down at where Danny’s hand was covering hers, and Danny frowned, watching Laura’s eyes fixate on the contact. Laura looked up at her and flushed, blurting out her question.

“Is this a date?”

Danny’s jaw dropped slightly and she pulled her hand back as though it had been burned. “Um…” she said, uncomfortable. “I thought it could be? But obviously that’s your choice too. And I _want_ it to be a date but only if you also want it to be a date?” she said, scanning Laura’s face for any sign of what she wanted. Laura smiled slightly and opened her mouth to respond when Perry interrupted her.

“Your omelette,” she said, placing the plate in front of Danny, “and your pancakes.” She set down a heaped plate in front of Laura, who gave Danny a sheepish grin over the whipped cream piled high on top. “That everything?”

“Um, yeah, thanks,” Danny responded, and Perry nodded and bustled back toward the kitchen. Danny and Laura sat in a brief and distinctly awkward silence for a moment until Danny rushed to fill it.

“So, pancakes?” she asked, gesturing toward the massive stack in front of Laura. Laura laughed and nodded. “What makes them so good?”

“Well, they have chocolate chips _and_ banana,” Laura said. “Which is a delicious combo anyway, but the banana also adds moisture to the pancakes so they’re a bit less dry. And then you drench it in syrup because it’s almost like you’ve caramelized the banana. And whipped cream because, you know, why not? It’s by far the best way to do pancakes. No question.”

Danny laughed. “Sounds delicious,” she said, and Laura nodded.

“If you want, you can have some,” Laura said, and Danny looked appraisingly at the plate.

“Sure, why not,” she said with a laugh. Laura grinned at her. She cut a piece of pancake off with the edge of her fork and leaned across the table.

Danny’s heart thudded traitorously as she leaned down to take a bite, and she noted with some dizziness the way that Laura’s eyes darkened as she pulled the fork back and watched the metal slide out from Danny’s lips.

Danny chewed quickly and swallowed, hiding a smile when Laura shook her head to clear it and took a big gulp of her water. Confidence somewhat elevated with this new evidence, Danny bit the bullet and asked.

“So… Do you _want_ this to be a date?”

Laura spluttered, nearly choking on her water. She fumbled for her napkin and wiped her face, studiously avoiding Danny’s eyes. “Um… Yes? If _you_ want it to be?” she said, and Danny smiled. She reached back across the table and took Laura’s hand again, and when Laura’s eyes snapped back up to meet hers, she gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

“I do want it to be a date,” she said. Laura smiled as tension visibly left her shoulders.

“Okay,” she said. “So it’s… a date.”

“It’s a date,” Danny confirmed, and they grinned at each other before they remembered that there was food in front of them. Danny looked down at her meal and shrugged, picking up her fork with her left hand so she didn’t have to let go of Laura’s.

They spent almost two hours in the cafe, talking about everything and nothing. Danny noticed Laura snuck bits of her food when she thought Danny wasn’t looking, and Danny smiled to herself and tried to pretend she didn’t find it as endearing as she did. She personally took a more blatant route, directing puppy-dog eyes toward Laura every time she wanted some of her pancakes. Laura would roll her eyes but a piece of pancake always ended up on her plate.

Perry eventually kicked them out, claiming she needed the table. They wandered outside, hands finding each other’s again, basking in the warmth of an early autumn sun. Eventually, their steps turned toward the south and Danny found herself walking Laura home.

When they reached her door, Danny cleared her throat and was about to speak when Laura’s lips cut her off. Danny’s eyebrows shot up but she kissed Laura back eagerly, reveling in the softness of the other girl’s lips, the feel of her hair tangled around her fingers, the way her waist fit under Danny’s hand. When they finally broke apart, Laura looked dizzy, and Danny was sure the same giddiness was reflected in her eyes. She pressed a quick kiss to Laura’s forehead. “I’ve wanted to do that for years,” she said softly, and Laura tilted her face up to capture her lips in another kiss.

“I’ve wanted _you_ to do that for years,” Laura responded playfully when they pulled apart again, and Danny laughed.

“I, uh… I should go,” she said regretfully. “I have so many papers to grade…”

“Right, of course,” Laura said hastily, stepping back. “But… Danny?” She caught Danny’s hand as she turned to leave, and Danny looked back at her. “You’ll call me?”

Danny smiled at her. “I will _definitely_ call you,” she said, and Laura’s concerned expression gave way to a joyful one. Danny smiled and ducked her head, turning and walking quickly out the door. She knew if she stayed, she would never leave.

She wandered down the streets of Graz, reveling in the beauty of the day. The leaves were beginning to turn on the trees and it filled her with a quiet peace. When a leaf fluttered off a branch and drifted through the wind toward her, she reached out and caught it gently, holding it in her palm, looking down at it with a smile.

She waited for another gust of wind and tossed it up, watching it be swept away, the leaf and her heart both lighter than air.


End file.
